Published: Apr 14, 2018, 05:42 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 14, 2018, 05:41 PM (IST)
Rohit Sharma’s masterstroke of sending Suryakumar Yadav to open (for the first time in T20 cricket) along with Evin Lewis reaped rewards. Mumbai Indians posted 194 for 7 in Match 9 of VIVO IPL 2018 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Surya and Lewis’ partnership of 102, the first century-stand at Wankhede, set the tone. Rohit and Ishan Kishan kept up the tempo and looked poised to take MI’s total to 200-plus. But Delhi Daredevils (DD), who had lost their way in the middle, found their way back in the death overs.
Surya and Lewis provided perfect entertainment for 18,000 ESA school kids who thronged Wankhede today. The new opening pair was all over the park from ball one, being particularly harsh on Trent Boult, Shahbaz Nadeem and Mohammed Shami, who had led the bowling attack from front against Rajasthan Royals. Gautam Gambhir tried all sort of shuffling with bowlers, bringing in Daniel Christian into attack as well during the Powerplay, but none could stop Surya and Lewis’ carnage.
Surya looked in fine touch when he smashed Shami for consecutive boundaries in the fourth over. Mumbai raced to their fastest fifty in IPL and in no time registered their highest Powerplay score of 84. With the onset of spinners after the play, DD seem to have found their lost mojo back in the game. Rahul Tewatia, especially, pulled the game back to DD’s favour removing the set openers: Lewis (48) misreading a googly and Suryakumar (53) was trapped leg-before.
Rohit and Kishan continued to hammer the Delhi bowlers. While Rohit opted for more conventional shots, Kishan took risks, getting consecutive boundaries off Tewatia.
But Delhi pulled things back, restricting Mumbai under 200. Christian, who was slammed for 18 in his first spell, removed Kishan for 44 and Kieron Pollard for a golden duck. Krunal Pandya, however, denied Christian a hat-trick.
Boult looked haywire in the initial overs, but now he came back to remove Rohit for 18. Rohit’s scores in IPL 2018 read 15, 11 and 18 as of now. Once he fell, MI succumbed to DD bowlers in the death overs, who bowled smart cutters and yorkers. Tewatia, Christian and Boult scalped 2 wickets each.
Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians 194 for 3 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 53, Evin Lewis 48; Rahul Tewatia 4-0-36-2, Daniel Christian 3-0-35-2) vs Delhi Daredevils
